FOOTBALLPremier League
Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Crystal Palace: Premier League Match Report
Spurs continue to impress as pressure builds on Pierre Sage, with Archie Gray and Jan Paul van Hecke heading the goals against a Crystal Palace side reduced to ten men when Jean-Philippe Mateta was sent off after 13 minutes.
In this report
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League teatime offering, with the home side winning the London derby comfortably against the ten men of Crystal Palace, who lost Jean-Philippe Mateta for a bad challenge on Micky van de Ven in the 13th minute, in front of a crowd of around 60,000 fans.
Tottenham Hotspur opened the scoring through a solid back post header by Archie Gray from a Mohammed Kudus corner in the 25th minute. Then the long wait for a second goal was over when defender Jan Paul van Hecke threw himself at Mateus Fernandes' stunning ball in. Dean Henderson made the save onto the bar but van Hecke headed it over the line while sitting on the grass to make it 2-0 after 73 minutes, and that is how it ended as Tottenham Hotspur sealed the points, a third win in a row and 8th spot in the Premier League.
Tottenham Hotspur came into the match off the back of a 2-0 away win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last time out, a 3-1 home win against Coventry City and a 1-1 away draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The previous two matches were a 2-3 home defeat to Aston Villa and a 1-3 away defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.
Timeline of key events
- Early
Kamada left footed shot from 20 yards on the counter saved by Kinsky
- 11'
Jean-Philippe Mateta booked for a foul on Micky van de Ven
- 13'
Mateta's yellow card upgraded to a red after a VAR review, Crystal Palace down to ten men
- 15'
Archie Gray booked for a foul on Kamada
- 25'
1-0 Gray. - back post header from a Kudus corner
- 33'
Gray knock back from a corner cleared by Mitchell
- Half time:
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Crystal Palace 0
- 46'
Gray off, Pedro Porro on for Tottenham Hotspur
- 53'
Oscar Mingueza booked
- 60'
Mingueza and Pino off, Khalaili and Nketiah on for Crystal Palace
- 68'
Solanke off, Gallagher on for Tottenham Hotspur
- 73'
2-0 van Hecke. - Henderson saves Mateus Fernandes' ball in onto the bar and van Hecke heads it over the line from the grass
- 77'
McNeil off, Osorio on for Crystal Palace. Robertson and Marmoush off, Udogie and Kulusevski on for Tottenham Hotspur
- 88'
Kamada and Wharton off, Hughes and Lerma on for Crystal Palace. Tel off, Williams-Barnett on for Tottenham Hotspur
- Full time:
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Crystal Palace 0
Crystal Palace came into the London derby off the back of a 1-0 Carabao Cup away win against Fulham at Craven Cottage, a 0-2 home defeat to Newcastle United last Sunday at Selhurst Park, a 2-2 Europa League away draw against Besiktas in Turkey, a 0-5 away loss to arch rivals Brighton & Hove Albion at the American Express Community Stadium and a 3-2 away loss to Lyon in the Europa League.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi started with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Antonin Kinsky in goal, then a back four of Archie Gray, Jan Paul van Hecke, captain Micky van de Ven and Andrew Robertson, then two holding midfielders in Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, then three attacking midfielders in Mohammed Kudus, Mathys Tel and Dominic Solanke with Omar Marmoush up top for the Lilywhites. Tottenham Hotspur made one change with Dominic Solanke coming in for James Maddison.
Crystal Palace's under pressure manager Pierre Sage started with a 3-4-2-1 formation with captain Dean Henderson in goal, then a back three of Chris Richards, Axel Disasi and Jaydee Canvot, then a four man midfield of Oscar Mingueza, Adam Wharton, Daichi Kamada and Tyrick Mitchell, then two attacking midfielders in Dwight McNeil and Yeremy Pino with Jean-Philippe Mateta up front. Crystal Palace made two changes with Dean Henderson and Oscar Mingueza coming in for Walter Benitez and Anan Khalaili.
The last three matches between the two sides were all away wins: Crystal Palace won 3-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in March 2026 and 2-0 in May 2025, and Spurs won at Selhurst Park. So two away wins for Palace and one away win for Spurs.
Crystal Palace kicked off the first half after both teams observed a minute's silence for the Remembrance ceremony. Tottenham Hotspur started well and took control of the game early on. After two consecutive wins in the Premier League, a third win would blow the cobwebs away from the early season performances on Halloween in N17.
Crystal Palace went close through a Daichi Kamada left footed shot from 20 yards out after a fast counter attack but Antonin Kinsky saved. Jean-Philippe Mateta was yellow carded in the 11th minute for a foul on Micky van de Ven but after a VAR review it was overturned into a red card in the 13th minute by referee Michael Oliver, so Crystal Palace went down to ten men.
Archie Gray was yellow carded for a foul on Daichi Kamada in the 15th minute. Tottenham Hotspur took a 1-0 lead in the 25th minute when Archie Gray headed in at the back post from a corner taken by Mohammed Kudus to send Spurs on their way.
Tottenham Hotspur had another corner in the 33rd minute hit to the back post towards Archie Gray but his knock back aimed at a fellow Tottenham Hotspur attacker was cleared by Tyrick Mitchell for the visitors.
Tottenham Hotspur led 1-0 at half time thanks to the only goal by Archie Gray. Tottenham Hotspur kicked off the second half 1-0 up. Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi replaced Archie Gray with Pedro Porro in the 46th minute.
Oscar Mingueza was yellow carded by referee Michael Oliver in the 53rd minute. Crystal Palace made a double substitution when Oscar Mingueza and Yeremy Pino were replaced by Anan Khalaili and Eddie Nketiah in the 60th minute. Tottenham Hotspur replaced Dominic Solanke with Conor Gallagher in the 68th minute.
The long wait for a second goal was over when defender Jan Paul van Hecke threw himself at Mateus Fernandes' stunning ball in. Dean Henderson made the save onto the bar but van Hecke headed it over the line while sitting on the grass to make it 2-0 after 73 minutes.
Dwight McNeil was replaced by Darlo Osorio in the 77th minute. Tottenham Hotspur made a double substitution in the 77th minute with Andrew Robertson and Omar Marmoush replaced by Destiny Udogie and Dejan Kulusevski.
Crystal Palace replaced Daichi Kamada and Adam Wharton with Will Hughes and Jefferson Lerma in the 88th minute. Tottenham Hotspur replaced Mathys Tel with Luca Williams-Barnett in the 88th minute.
That is how it ended as Tottenham Hotspur sealed the points, a third win in a row and 8th spot in the Premier League.
Tottenham Hotspur travel to play Leeds United at Elland Road next whilst Crystal Palace host Hoffenheim at Selhurst Park in the Europa League on Thursday and then host Liverpool on Sunday.
Match statistics
| Metric | Tottenham Hotspur | Crystal Palace |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 2 | 0 |
| Yellow Cards | 1 | 1 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 1 |
| Half Time | 1 | 0 |
| Attendance | Not given | - |
Possession, shots, passing and fouls: official match data issued in the press box. Expected goals: third party provider, as published. Saves counted at the ground and verified against the team sheet.
Match details
- Competition
- Premier League
- Venue
- Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
- Attendance
- Not given
- Referee
- Michael Oliver - Assistant Referees: Stuart Burt, James Mainwaring - 4th Official: Matt Corlett - VAR: Jarred Gillett - Assistant VAR: Richard West
- Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1)
- Kinsky - Gray (46, Pedro Porro), van Hecke, van de Ven (c), Robertson (77, Udogie) - Mateus Fernandes, Tonali - Kudus, Tel (88, Williams-Barnett), Solanke (68, Gallagher) - Marmoush (77, Kulusevski). Unused: Dubravka (G), Senesi, Maddison, Davies
- Crystal Palace (3-4-2-1)
- Henderson (c) - Richards, Disasi, Canvot - Mingueza (60, Khalaili), Wharton (88, Lerma), Kamada (88, Hughes), Mitchell - McNeil (77, Osorio), Pino (60, Nketiah) - Mateta. Unused: Benitez (G), Doucoure, Guessand, Chilwell
Editorial judgement, not a statistic
William Powell's standout players
Archie Gray (Tottenham Hotspur) - Opened the scoring with a solid back post header before making way at half time
Jan Paul van Hecke (Tottenham Hotspur) - Showed real commitment to bundle in the second goal from the grass to seal the points
Mateus Fernandes (Tottenham Hotspur) - His stunning ball in created the decisive second goal
Selected by William Powell at the ground.
William Powell
Senior Editor · FWA Life Member · Sports Journalist since 1987
William Powell is CUVA Sports' senior editor and lead correspondent, covering football and cricket at the highest level for nearly four decades. A Life Member of the Football Writers' Association, his writing combines deep tactical knowledge with the narrative flair of the best sports journalism.
